War crimes investigators have sought permission from the International Crimes Tribunal to detain senior BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury with links to crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh in a rejoinder to a report of The Daily Star headlined "India plotted intellectuals' murder" said the speech of its acting secretary general ATM Azharul Islam was published distorted.

Tender for Khulna 150 megawatt dual fuel power project finally sees the light after remaining 21 months in process as the project's financier recommended picking a Spanish bidder that the government was reluctant to select.

Only 201 non-government organisations out of some 30,000 have employed public information officers as required by the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2009, said Chief Information Commissioner Muhammad Zamir yesterday.

Editorial

Today is the 40th anniversary of our victory in the 1971 War of Liberation against the Pakistani occupation army. After the Independence Day on 26th March, this day marks the culmination and the ultimate victory of the Bengali people's protracted struggle for emancipation from subjugation and oppression by foreign occupation forces.

When development of indigenous capability in the telecom sector had been the avowed objective of the Telecom Act and accordingly local initiative was allowed to flourish with generous licensing and supportive facilities, it became a shiny sheen to the growth of an expanding, cutting-edge sector. But then came a shock as five locally owned PSTN (Public switched telephone network) operators like Dhaka Phone, National Telecom, People's Tel, RanksTel and WorldTel were delicensed by BTRC in May this year.

Sports

Two games, sixteen goals, nine of which was scored by the home team, a bright winter's sun and a full house of enthusiastic fans rocking the stadium; there was hardly a better place to be yesterday than at the Cox's Bazar Zilla Stadium in this seaside town on the fourth day of the SAFF Women's Football Championship.

South Africa and Australia faced off in the 1999 World Cup semifinal at Edgbaston on June 17 for what, according to many, was the best one-day match of all time. It was a match coloured by what had gone before and one that was full of drama.

Former Sweden striker Tomas Brolin has said he is still bitter over the way he was treated in England, where he saw his previously sparkling career disintegrate before coming to an end at the age of 29.

Just three days after the official start of their tour, India face what shapes as the biggest threat to their ranking as the number one team in Test cricket when they meet South Africa in the first Test at SuperSport Park on Thursday.

The Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League is not just about Abahani and Mohammedan and the money they spend, the country's most popular cricket competition also accommodates diverse teams, some of whom hardly have the club structure these days.

Star-studded Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Mohammedan Sporting Club played out a 1-1 draw in a practice match ahead of the Bangladesh League at the Birshrestha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday praised the contribution of South African coach Gary Kirsten to his team's success but admitted it might be difficult for India to keep him when his contract expires after the World Cup which ends in early April.

Leicester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson says he has no intention of quitting the club in order to replace Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers, with the Premier League side further insisting that Diego Maradona is not a contender for the job.

As we drove back from the village meeting, Habibul Islam, our regional sales manager, confided: “A couple of months ago, we thought Bithi would not be able to do this job and had given up on her. After attending the performance management workshop, we now know how to develop our colleagues. And it is making a world of difference!”

Shefali Begum, 28, believes her husband would have been ruined and her family would have succumbed to the clutches of poverty, had she not received loans from a local microcredit institution a decade ago.

Micro-financiers that have for years lent tiny amounts of cash to help people lift themselves from poverty are now also financing small and medium enterprises in an effort to give the budding entrepreneurs a stronger base and to create more jobs.

Shares of SKS Microfinance, India's largest and only publicly listed lender to the poor, fell by as much as 5 percent after lawmakers in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh approved legislation to regulate the fast-growing sector.

ASIA INSURANCEThe insurer said the subscription period for rights issue will be from March 31 to April 25, 2011. The record date for entitlement of rights share is January 6. The purpose of the issuance is to enhance the company's financial strength and expansion of business.

Foreign Minister (FM) Dipu Moni has called for building bridges of understanding amongst Asian and Middle Eastern nations to address the growing multifarious security threats through inter-regional cooperation.

A witness of BDR mutiny during cross-examination yesterday said one of the 111 accused of Record Wing went to his house after one hour of the eruption of the mutiny to kill Maj Ishtiaque who took shelter at the witness's house.

The American Embassy, including consular section and the American Center with the Archer K Blood American Center Library and the student advising center will remain closed today on the occasion of the Victory Day, a Bangladesh national holiday, says a press release.

A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said yesterday his backers had raised around half of the 200,000 pounds ($317,400) cash he needs to secure bail after he was accused of sex crimes in Sweden.

South Koreans stopped their cars, donned gas masks and ducked into underground shelters yesterday in the country's biggest-ever evacuation drill a government attempt to prepare traditionally indifferent citizens for possible new attacks by North Korea.

Greek protesters clashed with police and set fire to cars and a hotel in central Athens yesterday as tens of thousands marched against austerity measures aimed at pulling the country out of a debt crisis.

North Korea appears to be readying for a possible third nuclear test as early as next March, a newspaper reported yesterday, as a US politician travelled to Pyongyang with a message for the North to "calm down."

Arts & Entertainment

Mamunur Rashid needs no introduction to Bangladeshi theatre enthusiasts, cultural activists and TV audience. Considered one of the leading lights in the theatre arena, Rashid has received accolades at home and abroad for his plays, like “Rarang” -- each of which carries a bold social message. This actor-director-playwright and chief secretary of theatre troupe Aranyak was the featured artiste at DS Café this month. Unfortunately for us and Rashid's fans, due to some technical glitches, calls could not be forwarded to the Star Arts & Entertainment section. On a positive note, however, this gave us an opportunity to hear Rashid's experiences during the Liberation War. The whole team gathered around him as Rashid recounted those days. Thanks to his outstanding oratory skills, we were thrilled, shocked and moved. Excerpts from the conversation:

Marking four decades of Victory, Bangladesh Shilpakala academy (BSA) is holding a 16-day Bijoy Utshab (Victory Day Festival), featuring a number of cultural programmes at its premises. With the theme 'Banglar Mati Durjoy Ghati, Bujhe Nik Durbritto', the festival began on December 1 at BSA's Unmukto Moncho (open stage).

Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, in cooperation with Eastern Bank Ltd will hold an art camp titled “Bijoy Dibosh Chitromela” today on the occasion of Victory Day. The event will run until December 18. Veteran painters Quayyum Chowdhury, Hashem Khan, Mustafa Monowar and Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman will jointly inaugurate the exhibition at Bengal Centre, New Airport Road, Khilkhet. Ali Reza Iftikhar, managing director of Eastern Band Ltd will be present as special guest.

OP-ED

December 16 comes with feelings of mixed emotions. For a nation, nothing can be more joyous than the realisation that we are the masters of our own destiny. But with the attainment of victory comes the acute pain of loss of all those whose blood helped ensure that the Bengali nation has a state, that we have a flag we can call our own, and that we have a country that we can nurture and help blossom in fulfillment of the pious intentions of what we fought for.

When the efficacy of parliamentary system is doubted in a democratic polity, the finger may well be pointed at governance. The rulers make a mess of things and blame the system. This is what has been happening in India, which, otherwise, remains an open society. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remark that he is "worried over the future of parliamentary system" in the country is misplaced and speaks more of his government's failure than the system's.

In recent days the discontent among garments workers has increased at such an alarming rate that if we cannot come up with a solution we will have to pay for it severely. These days, when the inflation in food items is over 10% and when the other expenses are so high, how can a garment worker survive on only Tk.3,000-4,000? The discontentment leads to frequent strikes, violence, damage to property and deaths.

He took all disparaging attacks, slander and invectives against him with stoical composure. There was no malice or rancour against his detractors. His reaction was unflappable. He remained calm and unruffled.

This month has seen an intensification of the crisis in the Euro-zone -- the region of Europe where the Euro is the reigning currency. At the end of November, finance ministers of the 16 countries which have the Euro as common currency got together to discuss a rescue package for Ireland. Like Greece, which was threatened with default half a year ago, Ireland faced a double financial crisis. The state threatened to default on foreign loans, and at the same time had to cope with deep troubles in the domestic banking sector.

Star Chittagong

Our victory in the War of Liberation is our absolute pride. The surrender of 93,000 occupational forces on December 16, 1971 after nine months of freedom fight is an ever great achievement for the people. But unfortunately as events rolled then, the port city was liberated on December 17, a day later than Dhaka.